Navy Island is a small, uninhabited island in the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York in the United States (on the east). There are diffe ...

in the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, managed by Parks Canada as a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

. It is located about upstream from

Horseshoe Falls Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three waterfalls that collectively form Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border. Approximately 90% of the Niagara River, after diversions for hydropower generation, flows ...

, and has an area of roughly . It is across from the town of Grand Island, New York, US. It was designated a national historic site in 1921 in recognition of its role in shipbuilding and the location of the short-lived Republic of Canada. The site is closed to the public, has no visitor facilities, and has not allowed camping since the expiration of a lease with the

Niagara Parks Commission The Niagara Parks Commission, commonly shortened to Niagara Parks, is an agency of the Government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River. History The Commission was founded in 1885 and charged with preserving and ...

History

Queen's Hotel, Navy Island, Ontario, Canada (circa 1876 - 1910)

Navy Island was settled by the Lamoka people in approximately 2000 BC and Meadowood culture peoples in 1000 BC. During the French colonization of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

, Navy Island was known as ''Île de la Marina''. Here or nearby the French built four ships (bateaux) that they used to service the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. Two of these vessels were burnt by the French on Grand Island in 1759. When New France was ceded to the British in 1763, the latter set up the Navy Island Royal Naval Shipyard here. In the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, a detachment of the

Provincial Marine Provincial Marine was a coastal protection service in charge of the waters in the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River and parts of Lake Champlain under British control. While ships of the Provincial Marine were designated HMS, they were ...

was stationed on the island with a blockhouse and storehouse built on the southwest side of the island. The shipyard ceased operations around 1813, but was not transferred to Canada (

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North Americ ...

) until 1822. In 1837,

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented Yor ...

and about 200 of his supporters captured the island and proclaimed the Republic of Canada there. The old blockhouse was occupied by the rebel forces. Initially Mackenzie started with twenty-five men, but the population eventually swelled to over six hundred men. On January 11, 1838, the rebels were forced from the island and retreated across the river into the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. In 1875, the Queens Hotel was established as a popular summer resort on the island's south side. It was destroyed by fire in 1910. Farms and orchards were located on the northeast, south, central, northwest, and southwest ends of the island. Since abandoned, most of the farmed lands have been re-forested. Most trees on the island are oak or hickory. There are some reminders of habitation on the south side. A pier still exists that once served boaters to the island (although access to the island is closed to the general public and used only by Parks Canada staff). Permits were needed for camping, but camping has since been prohibited. A commemorative plaque for the island is located on the south shore of the Niagara River. Navy Island was proposed to be the new World Peace Capital and headquarters of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

by an international committee in 1945 and 1946. The island was considered to be an ideal location as it lay on the boundary between two peaceful countries. An artist's rendering of the World Peace Capital showed the property with bridges spanning both countries (at Grand Island in the US and the Canadian mainland on the other side). It was proposed that Navy Island would be ceded to the

as long as the headquarters remained, and to revert to the Canadian government should the U.N. move. The proposal was ultimately turned down in favour of the current U.N. headquarters in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

References

External links

Navy Island National Historic Site
{{Coord, 43.056, N, 79.010, W, type:isle_region:CA-ON, display=title Upper Canada Rebellion Parks in Ontario Landforms of the Regional Municipality of Niagara National Historic Sites in Ontario Uninhabited islands of Ontario Islands of the Niagara River River islands of Ontario